{"id":6167,"date":"2015-08-13T07:25:13","date_gmt":"2015-08-13T12:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.senioradvisor.com\/blog\/?p=6167"},"modified":"2015-07-22T15:43:44","modified_gmt":"2015-07-22T20:43:44","slug":"how-to-prevent-identity-theft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d30braiqprupoq.cloudfront.net\/blog\/2015\/08\/how-to-prevent-identity-theft\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Prevent Identity Theft"},"content":{"rendered":"

How To Prevent\u00a0Identity Theft\"How<\/h1>\n

Identity theft tops the list of complaints the FTC receives<\/a><\/strong> each year, and seniors are consistently the group targeted the most often, making up 36%<\/strong> of identity theft victims in 2012. Identity theft occurs when a thief gets ahold of someone\u2019s personal information \u2013 such as their social security number, birthdate, bank account or credit card number \u2013 and uses it to make purchases, apply for credit, or file taxes.<\/p>\n

How Does Identity Theft Happen?<\/h2>\n

Scammers have figured out a number of different ways to discover someone\u2019s personal information.<\/p>\n

1. Phishing<\/h3>\n

Phishing<\/strong><\/a> is the term used to describe the practice of sending emails that look like they\u2019re from a respected source requesting that the respondent send personal information. Scammers often design these emails so that they appear to be coming from brands you likely do business with, like Paypal or Apple, so you\u2019ll be tricked into sending them the information.<\/p>\n

Legitimate businesses never ask for sensitive information over email, so don\u2019t fall for it. If you ever need to provide a company with updated information, you can always call them at a number from their website or your receipt or bill, so you know you\u2019re reaching someone who actually works for the company.<\/p>\n

2. Phone call scammers<\/h3>\n

These guys pretty much do the same thing as phishers, but over the phone<\/a><\/strong>. They\u2019ll try to convince you that they\u2019re with a legitimate agency or that they have a prize giveaway for you in order to get you to hand over personal details. Again, you should never give out this information to someone you don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

3. Personal theft<\/h3>\n

Part of what makes seniors an easy target for identity theft is that they encounter a lot of people who have access to personal information about them \u2013 caregivers, assisted living staff, admins at the hospital they go to \u2013 these people are often handed access to your personal data without a second thought. If they\u2019re not trustworthy, working with them puts you at risk. This is the hardest type of identity theft to avoid, since it involves the betrayal of someone you should<\/em> be able to professionally trust.<\/p>\n

Those are the main methods of identity theft, but some thieves still perpetrate some of the older methods like stealing your wallet or purse, taking documents with sensitive information out of the trash, or swiping your mail in the hopes of encountering documents or offers with your sensitive information.<\/p>\n

7 Tips to Prevent Identity Theft<\/h2>\n

Scammers are often savvy and come up with new methods every day for stealing people\u2019s information, so you may not be able to completely protect yourself from identity theft. Even so, there are a lot of measures you can take to decrease your risks.<\/p>\n

1. Keep all documents with personal information secure.<\/h3>\n

Your social security card, birth certificate and any documents with sensitive financial information should be stored in a safe place where only people you trust can access it. That may be a safe deposit box at the bank or a lockbox in your own home. Don\u2019t, under any circumstances, carry these items with you.<\/p>\n

2. Only carry items you\u2019ll need on each trip.<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re going to the store, you\u2019ll need either a check or a credit card, but not both. You only need your Medicaid card when you\u2019re headed to the doctor. For each trip you take, consider what items you actually need on you, and leave the rest at home. The less personal information you have on you, the less power a potential thief will have.<\/p>\n

3. Shred documents before trashing.<\/h3>\n

Any files or documents you have that include personal information should be shredded before you throw them away. You can invest in a shredder, or cut them up into small strips before tossing them. Either way, the goal is to ensure that someone digging through your trash won\u2019t be able to read the account numbers or social security number on the page.<\/p>\n

4. Don\u2019t give any personal information to strangers.<\/h3>\n

As we discussed above, many scammers depend on the friendliness or gullibility of their victims. Rather than stealing from you, they just politely ask you to give up the information they can use against you and hope you\u2019ll assume they\u2019re trustworthy. \u00a0Any email or phone call you receive from a stranger asking for personal information should be ignored. If you\u2019re worried it might be important, ask someone close to you what they think before you respond.<\/p>\n

5. Keep an eye on your bank and credit card accounts.<\/h3>\n

If identity theft does occur, the faster you can catch it the more protected you\u2019ll be. Make a point to check your bank and credit card statements with regularity so you\u2019ll notice if any charges show up you didn\u2019t make. If you can step in and let your bank and credit card companies know right away that something\u2019s up, the thief won\u2019t be able to get very far with your information.<\/p>\n

6. Check your credit score once a year.<\/h3>\n

You can check your credit report for free once a year. Making sure you give it a look gives you the opportunity to see if any new debts have been reported that you aren\u2019t responsible for.<\/p>\n

7. Don\u2019t carry your Medicare card.<\/h3>\n

You don\u2019t want to be carrying around anything that has your social security number on it. Unfortunately, many Medicare and Medicaid cards do. You can get around keeping the card on you by making a copy of it and blacking out everything but the last four digits of your social security number and carrying that instead.<\/p>\n

Identity theft can make you feel powerless, but you can preemptively take some of the power back by being prepared. Be on your guard with strangers and careful with who you let access your personal information. You worked too hard to earn the money you have today, don\u2019t let someone else take it from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How To Prevent\u00a0Identity Theft Identity theft tops the list of complaints the FTC receives each year, and seniors are consistently the group targeted the most often, making up 36% of identity theft victims in 2012. Identity theft occurs when a thief gets ahold of someone\u2019s personal information \u2013 such as their social security number, birthdate, bank account or credit card […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200],"tags":[33,429],"class_list":{"0":"post-6167","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-families-caregivers","7":"tag-safety-tips-for-seniors","8":"tag-senior-scams"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Prevent Identity Theft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Seniors make up 36% of identity theft victims each year. 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